The decline in the number of sold apartments was felt all over the country, apart from the city of Hadera. Beersheba recorded a 27% drop in the number of transactions.

It appears that many young people prefer to stay in their parents' home: Apartment purchases by young couples fell 15% in January compared to December, similar to the total drop in transactions.

Compared to January 2012, there was a 10% rise in the number of apartments purchased by young couples, significantly lower than the increase in the total number of transactions during that period.

The fourth quarter of 2012 recorded a sharp rise in building starts following five quarters of decline. The increase in building starts does not change the downward trend
which began in the third quarter of 2011, but it does compensate for the sharp drop recorded in the third quarter of 2012.

The percentage of investors in the total number of transactions continued to fall in January, for the fourth month in a row, to 21.2% of all deals – the lowest rate in the past few years. Compared to December, investors' value fell by 1.7%, a significantly higher decline than that recorded in each of the three previous months.

In quantitative figures, the number of apartments purchased by investors in January dropped 23% compared to the previous month. In comparison to the same period last year, there was a moderate increase of 6% (compared to a 22% rise in the total number of transactions).

The number of apartments sold by investors in January fell 14% compared to the previous month, similar to the change in the total number of transactions.